Hagel Says U.S. Can Evacuate Citizens From Sochi
By Gopal Ratnam and David Lerman

WASHINGTON: -- The Pentagon stands ready to evacuate Americans from Sochi, Russia, during next month’s Winter Olympics if the need arises, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said.

“If we need to extract our citizens we’ll have appropriate arrangements with the Russians to do this,” Hagel said today at a Pentagon news conference.

As many as 10,000 Americans are expected to visit the Black Sea resort of Sochi for the games that begin Feb. 7, according to Obama administration officials, who today cited what they called an uptick in terrorist threats leading up to the Olympics.

Hagel said he offered “assistance in any way we can help” with security at the games during a recent conversation with his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu. “As of right now, Russians have not requested any specific assistance,” Hagel said. The U.S. has said it will station two naval vessels in the Black Sea during the games to respond to any emergency.

Full story: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-24/hagel-says-u-s-can-extract-citizens-from-sochi.html

-- Bloomberg 2014-01-25

Wow, 2014 vacations seem to be based on "Choose your political war zone"

So that's what they mean by War Games.

will be safer to watch if from your lazy sofa...

Dont know why pentagon not preparing to evacute citizens from iraq & afgan, were there is a real need..no offence us

The Muslim terrorists have already won...they have changed the world's focus from friendly world class athletes competing for the glory of their countries...one of the world's great social events...to a military conflict...

Now visitors to Sochi...are left wondering what bearded man or lovely lady is going to blow themselves up and take me and my family with them...

So sad...this radical...fanatical...way of expressing oneself...is inhumane...despicable...these are the true mentally ill people of the world...The Brit calling himself Mohammed does not hold a candle to these crazies...

Goes on in most countries of the world...where Muslims are the minority...wanting to impose their brand of social justice upon all the people of the land...South Thailand included...

Next to be evacuated are the Americans in Thailand

If those whack jobs screw with Putin's Olympics . . , there will be extreme hell to pay.

Unfortunately, that will likely be in the form of Putin razing those southern heavily Muslim occupied countries that Putin already detest and result in the deaths of a lot of good innocent people, but this is how Muslim extremists operate.

The whacked extremists want Putin to retaliate. They kill innocents hoping for counter attacks by Putin against the Southern provinces that will drive generally peaceful Muslims into enough rage to join the cause of the extremists.

These Muslim extremists have got to possess the most messed mentality, not only on earth, but on any other life bearing planet in what ever is beyond our solar system. Opportunist bacteria is a too kind of an analogy for them.

Edited January 25, 201412 yr by F430murci

If those whack jobs screw with Putin's Olympics . . , there will be extreme hell to pay.

Unfortunately, that will likely be in the form of Putin razing those southern heavily Muslim occupied countries that Putin already detest and result in the deaths of a lot of good innocent people, but this is how Muslim extremists operate.

The whacked extremists want Putin to retaliate. They kill innocents hoping for counter attacks by Putin against the Southern provinces that will drive generally peaceful Muslims into enough rage to join the cause of the extremists.

These Muslim extremists have got to possess the most messed mentality, not only on earth, but on any other life bearing planet in what ever is beyond our solar system. Opportunist bacteria is a too kind of an analogy for them.

The thing is that the extremists may not bargain for the kind of retaliation that Putin might decide on...he is not bound by the same pussy-footing crap that western leaders face - I dont think it's a particularly good idea for anyone to upset him.

You thought the Cold War was over - well, it's started again, and Russia is building up to be a very strong nation again.

Dont know why pentagon not preparing to evacute citizens from iraq & afgan, were there is a real need..no offence us

Will be sure to pass on your comment to the my fellow American citizens, nearly all of whom will never read and couldn't care less about your miniscule blip on the internet. If you want to make a statement with any true political impact, try writing a letter to your highest ranking government officials and asking them to please mention your suggestion the next time they meet with US Cabinet members. Or perhaps you don't have this sort of democratic power in your country.

If those whack jobs screw with Putin's Olympics . . , there will be extreme hell to pay.

Unfortunately, that will likely be in the form of Putin razing those southern heavily Muslim occupied countries that Putin already detest and result in the deaths of a lot of good innocent people, but this is how Muslim extremists operate.

The whacked extremists want Putin to retaliate. They kill innocents hoping for counter attacks by Putin against the Southern provinces that will drive generally peaceful Muslims into enough rage to join the cause of the extremists.

These Muslim extremists have got to possess the most messed mentality, not only on earth, but on any other life bearing planet in what ever is beyond our solar system. Opportunist bacteria is a too kind of an analogy for them.

As ever a fixation on religion misses the key drivers to the multiple conflicts that have plagued the North Caucasus region since the late 1800's.

Brutal colonial rule, mass deportations and indiscriminate warfare has already been waged on this unfortunate corner of the world. All this has achieved so far is generational hostility, hatred and a fierce desire for separatism. Apart from the oil in Dagestan these republics bring the Russians little but grief and bloodshed.

Holding the Winter Olympics in Sochi would be akin to holding any publicity rich event in Pakistan. At best a security nightmare and for the sake of the athletes and supporters I hope we have no rerun of Munich 1972 or even the park bombing in Atlanta.

If those whack jobs screw with Putin's Olympics . . , there will be extreme hell to pay.

Unfortunately, that will likely be in the form of Putin razing those southern heavily Muslim occupied countries that Putin already detest and result in the deaths of a lot of good innocent people, but this is how Muslim extremists operate.

The whacked extremists want Putin to retaliate. They kill innocents hoping for counter attacks by Putin against the Southern provinces that will drive generally peaceful Muslims into enough rage to join the cause of the extremists.

These Muslim extremists have got to possess the most messed mentality, not only on earth, but on any other life bearing planet in what ever is beyond our solar system. Opportunist bacteria is a too kind of an analogy for them.

As ever a fixation on religion misses the key drivers to the multiple conflicts that have plagued the North Caucasus region since the late 1800's.

Brutal colonial rule, mass deportations and indiscriminate warfare has already been waged on this unfortunate corner of the world. All this has achieved so far is generational hostility, hatred and a fierce desire for separatism. Apart from the oil in Dagestan these republics bring the Russians little but grief and bloodshed.

Holding the Winter Olympics in Sochi would be akin to holding any publicity rich event in Pakistan. At best a security nightmare and for the sake of the athletes and supporters I hope we have no rerun of Munich 1972 or even the park bombing in Atlanta.

Serious ??? Sochi is russian city, before 1991 muslims never was there !!!

If those whack jobs screw with Putin's Olympics . . , there will be extreme hell to pay.

Unfortunately, that will likely be in the form of Putin razing those southern heavily Muslim occupied countries that Putin already detest and result in the deaths of a lot of good innocent people, but this is how Muslim extremists operate.

The whacked extremists want Putin to retaliate. They kill innocents hoping for counter attacks by Putin against the Southern provinces that will drive generally peaceful Muslims into enough rage to join the cause of the extremists.

These Muslim extremists have got to possess the most messed mentality, not only on earth, but on any other life bearing planet in what ever is beyond our solar system. Opportunist bacteria is a too kind of an analogy for them.

As ever a fixation on religion misses the key drivers to the multiple conflicts that have plagued the North Caucasus region since the late 1800's.

Brutal colonial rule, mass deportations and indiscriminate warfare has already been waged on this unfortunate corner of the world. All this has achieved so far is generational hostility, hatred and a fierce desire for separatism. Apart from the oil in Dagestan these republics bring the Russians little but grief and bloodshed.

Holding the Winter Olympics in Sochi would be akin to holding any publicity rich event in Pakistan. At best a security nightmare and for the sake of the athletes and supporters I hope we have no rerun of Munich 1972 or even the park bombing in Atlanta.

Serious ??? Sochi is russian city, before 1991 muslims never was there !!!

Perhaps you missed the history lessons at school or were taught a sanitized version.

Read up on what is called in some quarters the Circassian Genocide of 1864-67, but whatever you choose to call it this was a systematic and brutal ethnic cleansing of an area by Russian forces resulting in the death or deportation of up to 1 million of the indigenous population of Sochi and it's surrounding region to make it a summer playground for Russians.

It's like saying Poland today is remarkably short of Jews....

If those whack jobs screw with Putin's Olympics . . , there will be extreme hell to pay.

Unfortunately, that will likely be in the form of Putin razing those southern heavily Muslim occupied countries that Putin already detest and result in the deaths of a lot of good innocent people, but this is how Muslim extremists operate.

The whacked extremists want Putin to retaliate. They kill innocents hoping for counter attacks by Putin against the Southern provinces that will drive generally peaceful Muslims into enough rage to join the cause of the extremists.

These Muslim extremists have got to possess the most messed mentality, not only on earth, but on any other life bearing planet in what ever is beyond our solar system. Opportunist bacteria is a too kind of an analogy for them.

As ever a fixation on religion misses the key drivers to the multiple conflicts that have plagued the North Caucasus region since the late 1800's.

Brutal colonial rule, mass deportations and indiscriminate warfare has already been waged on this unfortunate corner of the world. All this has achieved so far is generational hostility, hatred and a fierce desire for separatism. Apart from the oil in Dagestan these republics bring the Russians little but grief and bloodshed.

Holding the Winter Olympics in Sochi would be akin to holding any publicity rich event in Pakistan. At best a security nightmare and for the sake of the athletes and supporters I hope we have no rerun of Munich 1972 or even the park bombing in Atlanta.

Serious ??? Sochi is russian city, before 1991 muslims never was there !!!

Perhaps you missed the history lessons at school or were taught a sanitized version.

Read up on what is called in some quarters the Circassian Genocide of 1864-67, but whatever you choose to call it this was a systematic and brutal ethnic cleansing of an area by Russian forces resulting in the death or deportation of up to 1 million of the indigenous population of Sochi and it's surrounding region to make it a summer playground for Russians.

It's like saying Poland today is remarkably short of Jews....

And all of the Polish Jews are suicide bombing innocent women and children in Germany. Whatever, just more lameo excuses to act like crazed animals and kill innocent people who have done nothing to them.

News flash, those innocent Russians on the two buses and in the train station did not do anything to anyone in 1864-67.

Your just spreading more if the diseased mentality and excuses used by the whack jobs that specifically target innocent women and children.

Try again...

@Aurum

Don't really follow your point about sending Russians, Americans etc home. Where did I suggest that?

The simple point is that the treatment of the indigenous population by their Russian and before that Ottoman overlords explains a lot about today's resentment and hatred and thus the desire for separatism and self determination. Islamic resurgence in the N. Caucasus is a direct result of Russian brutalities, historical and ongoing.

Without wishing to be vindictive or indulging in schadenfreude, karma is a powerful force to be messed with at your peril....

Karma in this context is nothing more than whack jobs with a resentment attempting to spread their misery to others that have done nothing to them. So in essence, if you like the karma theory, Muslin extremists and those supporting their heinous acts really have it coming to them. Candidly, I don't believe in karma because some of the worst people I know have it the best and some of the best people I know never seem to get a break. Just more lame excuses to propagate the terrorist mentality.

Karma in this context is nothing more than whack jobs with a resentment attempting to spread their misery to others that have done nothing to them. So in essence, if you like the karma theory, Muslin extremists and those supporting their heinous acts really have it coming to them. Candidly, I don't believe in karma because some of the worst people I know have it the best and some of the best people I know never seem to get a break. Just more lame excuses to propagate the terrorist mentality.

I am no apologist or supporter of terrorism in whatever form it takes.

However to defeat terrorism it is a little important to understand the context that underpins the conflict if one has any interest in finding a lasting resolution.

Brutal techniques practised by the Russians in the N. Caucasus have been fantastically ineffective and have only served to create generations of participants in the increasingly bitter conflicts that plague the region.

The ethnic cleansing of Circassia (which includes modern day Sochi, so hardly a pure Russian city) from 1864-67 is widely regarded as the first systematic and brutally executed attempt at ethnic cleansing.

Try again...

@Aurum

Don't really follow your point about sending Russians, Americans etc home. Where did I suggest that?

The simple point is that the treatment of the indigenous population by their Russian and before that Ottoman overlords explains a lot about today's resentment and hatred and thus the desire for separatism and self determination. Islamic resurgence in the N. Caucasus is a direct result of Russian brutalities, historical and ongoing.

Without wishing to be vindictive or indulging in schadenfreude, karma is a powerful force to be messed with at your peril....

Russian brutalities ??? Russians never thrown from the windows hosts of their multistory apartment as it was in 1992-1993 in Chechnya. But now one from that chechens is hero of Russia ( yes - it's Kadyrov, today head of Chechen respublic)

Karma in this context is nothing more than whack jobs with a resentment attempting to spread their misery to others that have done nothing to them. So in essence, if you like the karma theory, Muslin extremists and those supporting their heinous acts really have it coming to them. Candidly, I don't believe in karma because some of the worst people I know have it the best and some of the best people I know never seem to get a break. Just more lame excuses to propagate the terrorist mentality.

I am no apologist or supporter of terrorism in whatever form it takes.

However to defeat terrorism it is a little important to understand the context that underpins the conflict if one has any interest in finding a lasting resolution.

Brutal techniques practised by the Russians in the N. Caucasus have been fantastically ineffective and have only served to create generations of participants in the increasingly bitter conflicts that plague the region.

The ethnic cleansing of Circassia (which includes modern day Sochi, so hardly a pure Russian city) from 1864-67 is widely regarded as the first systematic and brutally executed attempt at ethnic cleansing.

Russians never use ethnic cleansing - it's no russian method ! Where is the biggest mosque in Europe - at Chechnya, and it was built by Russian taxpayers' money ! Original way for ethnic cleansing - yes ?

Edited January 25, 201412 yr by aurum

I usually don't talk Putin or politics with my Russian wife. Not wise!

I, however, was just speaking to her about Sochi. She said these Muslim extremists can get away with messing around with US and other countries because they know there are lines the US will not cross. US worry about UN and global or macro politics and even worry about bad press and bscklash when US bombs allegedly cause collateral damage. Putin won't care and doesn't care.

Buzz from Moscow, and wife is tied in at pretty high levels as an international banker, is that everyone is watching Sochi play out . . . and if anything happens at Sochi that embarrasses Putin on a Global level he will cross those lines in those Southern regions and there will be no one or no country that can or will do anything to stop it.

Putin could give two shytes about UN or world opinion. Russians are proud people and will back Putin 100% if something happens at Sochi that cause embarrassment to Russia and death of innocents.

She also said that the Snowden FSB thing was well planned in advance, but US is too blinded by ego to believe or accept that Purin pulled one over on them.

Some off-topic posts and replies have been deleted.

Stay on-topic, please.

Karma in this context is nothing more than whack jobs with a resentment attempting to spread their misery to others that have done nothing to them. So in essence, if you like the karma theory, Muslin extremists and those supporting their heinous acts really have it coming to them. Candidly, I don't believe in karma because some of the worst people I know have it the best and some of the best people I know never seem to get a break. Just more lame excuses to propagate the terrorist mentality.

I am no apologist or supporter of terrorism in whatever form it takes.

However to defeat terrorism it is a little important to understand the context that underpins the conflict if one has any interest in finding a lasting resolution.

Brutal techniques practised by the Russians in the N. Caucasus have been fantastically ineffective and have only served to create generations of participants in the increasingly bitter conflicts that plague the region.

The ethnic cleansing of Circassia (which includes modern day Sochi, so hardly a pure Russian city) from 1864-67 is widely regarded as the first systematic and brutally executed attempt at ethnic cleansing.

Russians never use ethnic cleansing - it's no russian method ! Where is the biggest mosque in Europe - at Chechnya, and it was built by Russian taxpayers' money ! Original way for ethnic cleansing - yes ?

I presume you are joking....?

The "Russians never use ethnic cleansing - it"s no russian method".....

Well apart from the ethnic cleansing of Circassia in 1864-67 (which included the region surrounding modern day Sochi); the policy of ochista granits (cleansing of borders) which saw highlights such as the systematic removal of ethnic groups such as Germans & Poles from Ukraine in 1935, Koreans from the Far East in 1937, Ingrian Finns in 1940-41, Poles from the Polish territory invaded by Russia in 1939, 7 ethnic groups from the N.Caucasus in 1944 plus Crimean Tatars and Volga Germans, Japanese and Koreans from Sakhalin & Kuriles in 1951. All in all approximately 6-8 million people ethnically cleansed. Then there are the 14 million Germans cleansed form E.Europe after WW2 but they were the losers and had committed appalling atrocities against Russia.

The entire Chechen and Ingush populations were forcibly deported in 1944 and banned from returning till 1957 and then resettled in the Chechen lowlands rather than in their original mountain villages.

More recently Russian armed forces aided and abetted the ethnic cleansing of Georgians from Abkhazia in 1992-93 and completed the job in 1998, and the ethnic cleansing of Georgians from S.Ossetia in 2008.

So a little bit of form when it comes to population redistribution....Sochi was just the start.

Try again...

@Aurum

Don't really follow your point about sending Russians, Americans etc home. Where did I suggest that?

The simple point is that the treatment of the indigenous population by their Russian and before that Ottoman overlords explains a lot about today's resentment and hatred and thus the desire for separatism and self determination. Islamic resurgence in the N. Caucasus is a direct result of Russian brutalities, historical and ongoing.

Without wishing to be vindictive or indulging in schadenfreude, karma is a powerful force to be messed with at your peril....

Russian brutalities ??? Russians never thrown from the windows hosts of their multistory apartment as it was in 1992-1993 in Chechnya. But now one from that chechens is hero of Russia ( yes - it's Kadyrov, today head of Chechen respublic)

Well having tried mass deportation/ethnic cleansing, having had their butts seriously kicked in the First Chechen War and triumphed in the Second, the Russians went for Plan B and installed a murderous warlord family to do their dirty work for them. For a flavour see links below: Vendettas and blood feuds in the N. Caucasus make the Sicilian version look like a minor kerfuffle. Sadly trying to crush separatist insurgencies in this way is like the old problem of stamping on lumps in the carpet. They just pop up elsewhere as has been witnessed in Dagestan, Ingushetia and elsewhere in the Caucasus.

All in all the N. Caucasus is a very nasty part of the world, inhabited and fought over by some very nasty people for the last few centuries. Hence having the Olympics at the western end of this region around Sochi is an interesting location from the security point of view. I hope for everyone's sake that nothing untoward happens.

http://content.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2014319,00.html

http://www.csmonitor.com/1995/0308/08011.html

The Muslim terrorists have already won...they have changed the world's focus from friendly world class athletes competing for the glory of their countries...one of the world's great social events...to a military conflict...

Now visitors to Sochi...are left wondering what bearded man or lovely lady is going to blow themselves up and take me and my family with them...

So sad...this radical...fanatical...way of expressing oneself...is inhumane...despicable...these are the true mentally ill people of the world...The Brit calling himself Mohammed does not hold a candle to these crazies...

Goes on in most countries of the world...where Muslims are the minority...wanting to impose their brand of social justice upon all the people of the land...South Thailand included...

Seems that even after reporting the post the biggoted anti Muslim rant is allowed to remain untouched.

Next to be evacuated are the Americans in Thailand

The threat is from Islamic terrorists.

Discussion of moderation in the open forum is not permitted. Here is the rule:

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Continue at your own peril.

If those whack jobs screw with Putin's Olympics . . , there will be extreme hell to pay.

Unfortunately, that will likely be in the form of Putin razing those southern heavily Muslim occupied countries that Putin already detest and result in the deaths of a lot of good innocent people, but this is how Muslim extremists operate.

The whacked extremists want Putin to retaliate. They kill innocents hoping for counter attacks by Putin against the Southern provinces that will drive generally peaceful Muslims into enough rage to join the cause of the extremists.

These Muslim extremists have got to possess the most messed mentality, not only on earth, but on any other life bearing planet in what ever is beyond our solar system. Opportunist bacteria is a too kind of an analogy for them.

You don't mean by any chance that there could be a clash of civilizations where 'Whitey' is not 100% responsible do you? I was thinking to myself that the Islamist ideology is actually a step backwards from the stone age, seeing as they have taken the invention of writing to codify a f**ked up death cult that can be passed on like a virus, much more effectively than by word of mouth.

The Russians are in the same boat as the West here and the days of the cold war should be forgotten in order to best deal with a common enemy.

Try again...

@Aurum

Don't really follow your point about sending Russians, Americans etc home. Where did I suggest that?

The simple point is that the treatment of the indigenous population by their Russian and before that Ottoman overlords explains a lot about today's resentment and hatred and thus the desire for separatism and self determination. Islamic resurgence in the N. Caucasus is a direct result of Russian brutalities, historical and ongoing.

Without wishing to be vindictive or indulging in schadenfreude, karma is a powerful force to be messed with at your peril....

I'm sure the children who were tortured and murdered in Beslan certainly felt the karma, as you put it. Regarding schadenfreude, why even mention it as the mere idea is offensive in the extreme when considering recent events, unless you believe in original sin that is. Finally, even if you do subscribe to the notion of historic guilt Russia, Serbia and the Caucuses in general have suffered from the scourge of Islamic invasion, slave raids and massacres for centuries before Russia took its present form.

If those whack jobs screw with Putin's Olympics . . , there will be extreme hell to pay.

Unfortunately, that will likely be in the form of Putin razing those southern heavily Muslim occupied countries that Putin already detest and result in the deaths of a lot of good innocent people, but this is how Muslim extremists operate.

The whacked extremists want Putin to retaliate. They kill innocents hoping for counter attacks by Putin against the Southern provinces that will drive generally peaceful Muslims into enough rage to join the cause of the extremists.

These Muslim extremists have got to possess the most messed mentality, not only on earth, but on any other life bearing planet in what ever is beyond our solar system. Opportunist bacteria is a too kind of an analogy for them.

You don't mean by any chance that there could be a clash of civilizations where 'Whitey' is not 100% responsible do you? I was thinking to myself that the Islamist ideology is actually a step backwards from the stone age, seeing as they have taken the invention of writing to codify a f**ked up death cult that can be passed on like a virus, much more effectively than by word of mouth.

The Russians are in the same boat as the West here and the days of the cold war should be forgotten in order to best deal with a common enemy.

The sad part, and there are many, is that these athletes have devoted their lives and sacrificed so much to be here. These selfish nut jobs are victimizing the wrong people and innocents.

They are a step behind opportunistic bacteria as well as being a step back from the Stone Age. I am so sick and tired of people trying to make excuses for that which should never be tolerated.

Seems like the Mayor of Sochi is under the illusion that his town is free of gays.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25909656

rather like the idea that Sochi has no pre-Russian heritage and is muslim-free, another piece of palpable nonsense....

Glad to see that everyone's favourite POTUS is sending a high profile US delegation to the opening and closing ceremonies.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2013/12/obama-selects-gay-athletes-for-sochi-olympic-delegation.html